Middle Park Hotel Suburban Icon Poster
It began with bricks, booze, and Victorian bravado. Built in 1889 and licensed the same year by John Mahon, the Middle Park Hotel has long stood as a stately, boozy cornerstone of the community on Canterbury Road.
But don’t let the wood panelling fool you. This place has seen it all.
Back in the day, the Middle Park Hotel was a centre of local politics, kindergarten committees, bowls clubs, and any other gathering that needed beer and a backroom. It was where men made speeches, women ran the show, and nobody left sober if they could help it.
Elizabeth Mahon, the hotel’s original leading lady, was a local legend in lace. One newspaper in 1905 lovingly described her as a thoughtful hostess — meaning she probably served afternoon tea to lady bowlers at 4:30, and probably poured gin into it by 4:31.
This was also the golden age of the “smoke night” — a post-dinner revelry of singing, storytelling, and tobacco-fuelled tomfoolery that sounds like a bachelor party hosted by your local football club and emceed by Banjo Paterson.
Then came the 1950s — the decade of destruction. The urns were removed. The windows bricked up. The building went from Victorian-era swagger to late-20th Century disaster.
In 2009, a renovation brought the old girl back to glory. Victorian elegance was stitched together with modern design: a relaxed front bar, a dining room clad in English oak salvaged from the MCC Long Room, and enough charm to lure both history buffs and Sunday brunchers.
Today, the Middle Park Hotel stands as a bayside icon with beer taps and battle scars — and this Suburban Icons print captures it in all its weathered, whiskey-soaked glory. It’s a tribute to a place where ghosts drink quietly, the past lingers in the wood grain, and the present toasts them with a pale ale and a medium-rare porterhouse.
Hang it in your home, your bar, your shed — anywhere that could use a bit more character and a lot more boozy history.
This artwork is available in A0, A1, A2, A3, A4. Professional framing is available on A0, A1 and A2 sizes via pick up only.
It began with bricks, booze, and Victorian bravado. Built in 1889 and licensed the same year by John Mahon, the Middle Park Hotel has long stood as a stately, boozy cornerstone of the community on Canterbury Road.
But don’t let the wood panelling fool you. This place has seen it all.
Back in the day, the Middle Park Hotel was a centre of local politics, kindergarten committees, bowls clubs, and any other gathering that needed beer and a backroom. It was where men made speeches, women ran the show, and nobody left sober if they could help it.
Elizabeth Mahon, the hotel’s original leading lady, was a local legend in lace. One newspaper in 1905 lovingly described her as a thoughtful hostess — meaning she probably served afternoon tea to lady bowlers at 4:30, and probably poured gin into it by 4:31.
This was also the golden age of the “smoke night” — a post-dinner revelry of singing, storytelling, and tobacco-fuelled tomfoolery that sounds like a bachelor party hosted by your local football club and emceed by Banjo Paterson.
Then came the 1950s — the decade of destruction. The urns were removed. The windows bricked up. The building went from Victorian-era swagger to late-20th Century disaster.
In 2009, a renovation brought the old girl back to glory. Victorian elegance was stitched together with modern design: a relaxed front bar, a dining room clad in English oak salvaged from the MCC Long Room, and enough charm to lure both history buffs and Sunday brunchers.
Today, the Middle Park Hotel stands as a bayside icon with beer taps and battle scars — and this Suburban Icons print captures it in all its weathered, whiskey-soaked glory. It’s a tribute to a place where ghosts drink quietly, the past lingers in the wood grain, and the present toasts them with a pale ale and a medium-rare porterhouse.
Hang it in your home, your bar, your shed — anywhere that could use a bit more character and a lot more boozy history.
This artwork is available in A0, A1, A2, A3, A4. Professional framing is available on A0, A1 and A2 sizes via pick up only.
It began with bricks, booze, and Victorian bravado. Built in 1889 and licensed the same year by John Mahon, the Middle Park Hotel has long stood as a stately, boozy cornerstone of the community on Canterbury Road.
But don’t let the wood panelling fool you. This place has seen it all.
Back in the day, the Middle Park Hotel was a centre of local politics, kindergarten committees, bowls clubs, and any other gathering that needed beer and a backroom. It was where men made speeches, women ran the show, and nobody left sober if they could help it.
Elizabeth Mahon, the hotel’s original leading lady, was a local legend in lace. One newspaper in 1905 lovingly described her as a thoughtful hostess — meaning she probably served afternoon tea to lady bowlers at 4:30, and probably poured gin into it by 4:31.
This was also the golden age of the “smoke night” — a post-dinner revelry of singing, storytelling, and tobacco-fuelled tomfoolery that sounds like a bachelor party hosted by your local football club and emceed by Banjo Paterson.
Then came the 1950s — the decade of destruction. The urns were removed. The windows bricked up. The building went from Victorian-era swagger to late-20th Century disaster.
In 2009, a renovation brought the old girl back to glory. Victorian elegance was stitched together with modern design: a relaxed front bar, a dining room clad in English oak salvaged from the MCC Long Room, and enough charm to lure both history buffs and Sunday brunchers.
Today, the Middle Park Hotel stands as a bayside icon with beer taps and battle scars — and this Suburban Icons print captures it in all its weathered, whiskey-soaked glory. It’s a tribute to a place where ghosts drink quietly, the past lingers in the wood grain, and the present toasts them with a pale ale and a medium-rare porterhouse.
Hang it in your home, your bar, your shed — anywhere that could use a bit more character and a lot more boozy history.
This artwork is available in A0, A1, A2, A3, A4. Professional framing is available on A0, A1 and A2 sizes via pick up only.
© 2025 Historic Prints / Suburban Icons, part of The Brand Garage, Melbourne. All images and intellectual property remain the property of Historic Prints. No part of this artwork may be copied, reproduced, or distributed without prior permission.
